Gender Switch
by maximumcullenxxx
Summary: After a huge thunder storm, Max and Iggy switch bodies. What happens with this new, strange thing that has happened? How will they get back in their own bodies? And what if they don't tell anyone? What more trouble can this cause? FAX!
1. The Thunder Storm

_

* * *

_

Alright. This…is a weird story. A new one. A fax one, of course. So, tell me what you think. Should I continue it?

_Thanks to my awesome Beta Reader, Skye Maxwell! :D_

* * *

_PROLOGUE_

Everything seems so perfect in time. It seems to finally get better, little by little. Then you smile, find the love of your life, run into the sunset and_ BAM! _You instantly live happily ever after, and even die with a huge smile on your face because you knew you had the perfect life anyway, so why would you want more?

You know what I think of that? It's a stupid rumor. Hell, maybe not even a rumor at all. Maybe just a superstition that goes around to people.

_Then you turn six._ And suddenly it all vanishes from your grasp, and you know 'happily ever after' just doesn't happen as much as you'd like it to.

Yes, you might be thinking, 'Wow, Max, depressed much?' But no! I'm not depressed! I'm as happy as can be! Just without the 'happily ever after' mumbo jumbo. But apart from that, gee whiz, I'm just peachy!

What I am talking about here, is that life is full of obstacles. Whether they're big, small, or just plain weird, there they are, and you'll never go through life without them. Because life isn't built to be perfect. It isn't built to fit anyone; life is what you want it to be. You decide about it; right or wrong. You got two huge choices.

But when you're about to die; well, that's when it all snaps into perspective.

That is, if you don't want to die. You'd fight for your life and suddenly say, 'I _want_ my happily ever after! I _want_ my perfect life! I was so close to getting there, it can't be taken away from me _now_!'

And you try. You struggle. You fidget, you kick, you breathe—and you live.

You live, but not as the same person as before. Nothing would ever be the same like that. And as much as you struggled to live—you still don't get that happily ever after.

* * *

_CHAPTER ONE_

We all stared intently at one another. We switched faces every now and then, sometimes startling the heck out of us, not really noticing whose face was whose. The rain was pattering hard against the roof of our new 'home' and the thunder got louder with each new pattern of lightning it brought. The light was out and the burning scent of the candles was traveling all around the small living room as we sat on the small couches, cramped up.

Angel leaned against me, her eyes almost fluttering close already; it was definitely later than the time the kids usually fell asleep. I stroked her hair reassuringly. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was scared. I could feel her small heart beating wildly against me.

I looked around again, trying to get my eyes used to the darkness. It wasn't so hard, because of my raptor vision, but once too dark it did get kind of difficult, even with the candles providing small amounts of light.

I heard someone sigh audibly; an annoyed sigh, I recognized. I didn't even have to ask who it was to roll my eyes.

"We can't do anything, anyway. You'll have to cope." I told Iggy.

I could feel his head turned to my direction, but I refused to look at his face, knowing he would be scowling or sending me some swear words through his gaze.

"I have something to do," he muttered. "And plus, I'm used to the darkness, Max. Remember? I'm blind?"

I narrowed my eyes. Didn't he get that even if the house was as dark as his vision he couldn't leave? Anything, and I did mean _anything_, could jump out at us any second, especially in _this_ condition. Even if we hadn't been attacked in more than four months, we could never let our guards down. And he knew that better than anyone.

"I said, _cope_." I repeated fiercely. He knew what I meant by him staying with us—he was just probably trying to annoy me. It was his mission of the day…_every_ day. What else could a blind mutant hybrid do in a house like that without so much as going to school? Of course, annoy the leader of his flock! Who wouldn't do _that_?

Though when he didn't annoy me, he always flirted with the girl next door. She was pretty and talented, I'll admit her voice was pretty spectacular—her name was Rachel. She was one year older than Iggy, and knew all about us (unfortunately). I just knew that when he wasn't inside, he was most definitely flirting with her.

Or, at least, I hoped so. I would have to be watching my back more than usual, now that I thought of it.

Iggy let out another annoyed sigh, leaving me so close to snapping and giving him a good kick in the shin. Fang met my eyes, trying to cool me down. I couldn't. I mean, I had been stuck there for hours, with only about four word exchanges every three, I was sweating, especially with Angel sitting on top of me—but I didn't let her know—and to top it off, I needed to _pee_. Badly.

I looked back at Fang desperately. He should understand what was going on. He raised an eyebrow, then nodded understandingly. He leaned over slowly to Iggy and murmured something so quietly, it was as if he hadn't said anything at all. Iggy nodded and Fang stood up, making his way over to me.

Angel was already half asleep by then; her eyes were only half way open and her breathing was slowly becoming even.

Fang motioned with his hand as if to say, 'Give her to me'. Gratefully, I slowly and carefully got up, taking Angel with me like a baby, and passed her to Fang.

"I'm going to take her to bed." Fang whispered, and before I could object, he said, "It's all going to be fine. Trust me."

I looked at him, and then nodded slowly. It was hard not to trust Fang when he used such a tone with me. You wouldn't either, trust me.

I happened to catch Nudge's eyes also fluttering closed, with her head resting on Iggy's shoulder. Iggy was stroking her hair, probably comforting her to sleep. I sighed and looked back at Fang, motioning him to the hallway.

We walked in silence to Angel's room. We didn't need to say anything—mostly because both of us were exhausted. The rain was still hitting the roof hard, not slowing down. A flash of lightning shone through the windows, and after about a minute, a louder thunder than the last one sounded.

Angel winced a bit, and snuggled closer to Fang. But her eyes were now fully shut, so she was probably nearly completely asleep.

I opened the door to Angel's and Nudge's room, letting Fang go in first. Silently, he flowed in without any trouble at all and I followed just a footstep or two behind him.

I unmade Angel's sheets for him, halfway to the edge of the bed. Fang set her down carefully, body first, and when her head hit the pillow, her hand clung to it and she shifted her weight, facing the wall.

Fang grabbed the sheets and pulled them over Angel, making sure they were secure and warm enough around her. I almost smiled at the image; it was just like a dad tucking in his daughter.

After he finished, I followed him out the door as he almost inaudibly shut it closed. Then he looked at me.

"Needed to do something?" he asked, suppressing a chuckle.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I can't help when I urinate. It's the discharge of my urine. It's not my decision."

He chuckled once. "Since when so specific, Max?" he asked quietly. I gave him a glare and walked past him, angered and annoyed enough for one day.

Before I could reach the bathroom, he took a firm hold of my arm before I could go anywhere.

"Hold up a minute," he whispered, taking his place in front of me again. I put on my annoyed face when I met his eyes.

"Yes?" I whispered back.

He looked at me intently for a moment and then sighed. "It'll be alright, Max," he seemed very sure about this statement. "How about you go ahead and get some rest? You seemed stressed out enough."

I cut out my annoyed face as it turned into confusion. Fang really _did_ sound worried, and his eyes were so intense and serious…

I felt heat rush up into my face, and I quickly looked down. Even though he probably couldn't see it with the house so dark, I was still embarrassed at myself.

"Okay," I muttered, agreeing just to get away from him. "Whatever. But I still have to pee." I let myself free from his grasp, pushing hard past him.

I could practically see the hurt he was hiding behind his eyes, and that killed me, for some unknown reason. I don't know why it killed me, and I'm not playing dumb either. Keep your comments to yourself.

I reached the bathroom and tried not to look desperate by opening it as quickly as possible and slamming it shut. So instead, very casually, I silently opened it with an almost inaudible little _click! _and closed it in the same manner.

After that I slid down against the door. The sensation of needing to pee was long gone, but I still needed to sit down and just _think_.

But I did nothing of the thinking thing. Instead, I just let the silence of the restroom comfort me in a way the whole house couldn't. Even though there was clearly no AC, the room was cool and fresh, yet dark and ominous. I could see the mirror reflecting the shower curtain, but I didn't dare look at it in case something popped out of it.

Technically all I did was relax.

In the restroom.

I only notice now how strange that sounds.

I stood up, a bit more content than I was about five minutes before, and opened the door, still careful not to make a sound.

Fang wasn't in the hallway anymore. I walked out and made my way back to the living room.

Panic ran through me as soon as I was within seeing range.

No one was there.

It was dark, the candles were no longer enlightening the room, and the after-presence of the flock was still fresh.

My first instinct was to do a double-look of the area. Maybe I was being paranoid; they could've been there, sitting, and I must've overlooked them somehow.

I looked closely, and I suddenly saw a dark figure sitting in the loveseat. I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness overfilling the room.

"Fang?" I asked.

The dark figure stood up and silently walked over to me, and relief flooded throughout my whole body as I realized that, indeed, it was Fang.

"They went to bed," he reassured me, once he was close enough for me to hear and understand him. He probably saw the aftershock of my gaze.

I nodded. "You could have warned me. I was about to kick your butt."

He snorted. "I'm sure I would've let you." He sighed. "Go get some rest. It's late already. You're usually asleep by this time." My brows furrowed.

"Do I want to know how you know that?" I swear I thought I saw his face flush, but I wasn't too sure of anything in the dark. He shrugged.

"I stop hearing your television next door at about this hour," he said evenly. I shrugged, giving up on it. I didn't want to know, really.

"Alright," I said, trying not to yawn loudly. Or trying not to yawn at all, for that matter. "I'm going to sleep. G'night," I muttered.

"Sweet dreams, Max." Fang whispered, smirking. I rolled my eyes at his wish and turned to head for my room, smiling once out of his vision range.

* * *

_The shadow was running. It was running away from me. And for some reason, it seemed very urgent to catch it. To not let it go. But it was running faster every second, so, so fast…_

"_Wait!" I called to it, but my voice sounded funny, distant, like…not in place. I tried to run, but something caught hold of my arm. It was firm and warm and sent electricity running through my veins._

_But I ignored it. I ignored the warm, amazing feeling the object caused me, because I had to get to the shadow. It couldn't leave me. I needed to reach it. I couldn't look back at anything; all that mattered was that shadow._

_BOOM! _

My pulse raced and my head was sweaty as I jumped up and clamped my hand to my heart, feeling its uneven beating. I panted hard and momentarily couldn't breathe through my nose.

I gasped and swallowed dryly as I looked around my room. The fan was on, the lights were off.

The electricity must have come back on as I slept.

Another thunder, louder than the one that probably woke me, was heard.

Apparently, the thunderstorm wasn't over.

I started breathing evenly again and my heart speed went back to normal- or as normal as it could get, anyway.

I remembered the dream I had had just about a minute ago. Why was I so afraid of it? Why did it wake me panting and terrified? There was nothing scary about it. At least, nothing that really seemed scary to _me_.

I shook the sensation off and suddenly felt hot. I realized I was still sweating from the back of my head and on my forehead.

I pulled my sheets off and put my slippers on, because the floor was icy cold for some reason. Lazily, I dragged myself to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

I noticed the oven clock said 3:27 AM. It was still late. At what time had I fallen to sleep? Probably two or three hours before I woke up again, I admitted to myself. So I didn't really miss out on much.

I opened the cup cabinet and served myself some water from the fridge. The water pouring into the cup didn't compare to the drops of rain outside, so it didn't really matter what noise it made; it really made little difference.

I gulped down the water quickly and desperately, refreshed by the cool sensation it gave while going through my dry throat.

I finished the last bit of water and separated the cup from my mouth. I set it into the sink quietly, planning to walk back to my room and to my comfortable, warm bed and finally fall asleep once again, hopefully without having to repeat the dream that had woken me up so abruptly.

I started walking out of the kitchen when I bumped into something hard.

My butt hit the floor with a small _thump! _and I rubbed the spot on my forehead where the contact with the object had given me most pain.

"Ow," I muttered, looking up to see what I bumped into.

I saw a panic-struck Iggy looking around, hopelessly because he obviously couldn't see.

"Who's there?" he hissed fiercely, hiding his nervousness.

I sighed and stood up, rubbing my butt. "It's me, Iggy," I murmured. "What are you doing up so late?"

His face was composed as he relaxed his stance. "Midnight snack," he told me. I cocked my head to one side.

"At three in the morning?" I asked reluctantly. I could see his smirk.

"I have one at six as well," he told me. I rolled my eyes.

"Have fun with that." I muttered, trying to walk past him.

Instead, he stepped to the side I moved to without realizing it. I sighed and moved to the side he left open for me, but then froze as I heard a crash coming from the backyard.

Iggy stiffened too. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Yeah," I breathed, looking out the porch door. I made one of my famous snap decisions. "I'm going to check it out. Wait here."

Iggy shook his head. "No way. I'm going with you. And before you say something, remember it's raining hardcore out."

I rolled my eyes. Better to go with back up, anyway. "Alright," I muttered.

He followed me towards the back door. I unlocked it and opened it.

Winds, _hard _winds, blew inside, hitting both of us with such force that we both took a step back. Raindrops were pouring in indefinitely. This was a big storm, all right.

"Max, close the door!" Iggy yelled at me.

I couldn't, though, because I saw a small, white object moving against the storm with all its might. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the blur and the chaos.

"_Max! Close the freaking door_!" Iggy yelled once again.

I finally realized what the object was. It was a tiny white puppy with big, scared eyes. It was trying to run the opposite direction of the storm. Big problem, though; there was no opposite direction.

"There's a dog, Ig!" I complained. "It's a puppy! I can't leave it there!" I just didn't have the heart to, for some reason.

"Max, let it go! Close the door! We're going to get freaking blown out!" Iggy shouted through the winds.

Hadn't someone from the flock already woken up through this chaos? They weren't heavy sleepers.

"No! I'll be right back!" I yelled, but Iggy grabbed my arm.

"You _idiot_! Get back in here!"

I scowled. Iggy had never addressed me that way before. And that only made me continue wanting to do the opposite of what he told me.

I looked back at the puppy, who now looked as it was about to blow away. With all my force, I jumped out of Iggy's hold and onto the porch.

"_MAX_!"

This time it was a different voice; Fang's.

I looked back to see him standing next to Iggy, a dreadful look over his face. I grimaced at him, mouthing, 'Sorry'. I had promised never to do something stupid again; I was breaking it big time.

Iggy was now behind me, and I looked at him in shock.

"Iggy! Get back in!" The rain was getting harder now, making it hard to see, but enough that I could still see the puppy struggling and hear it whining.

"I'm only here because Fang wanted to come get you, but he has no shoes, and I don't want any of us to get sick!" He tried to reach for my arm, but I ran towards the puppy.

"Here puppy!" I shouted, and the puppy looked up at me with terrifying eyes. Why was I doing this? Since when did I have such a care for animals? But…why did I have the feeling I've seen it somewhere before?

"Come on, boy!" I yelled again, and this time it seemed to react, trying to walk towards me. I was surprised when I felt relief flood through me.

"Good boy! Closer!"

I walked towards the puppy as it walked towards me.

And only a few steps before I could reach it, I heard Iggy call out, "_Max_!"

I saw a huge amount of light blind my eyes, followed by instant burn.

I heard someone cry out my name, then a loud thunder, making it seem as the ground shook behind me, and I crashed to the ground

* * *

_Mmm, I'm not sure about it. But, nevertheless! I would like at least five reviews to the second chapter. At least to know how I did. Thank you. :D_


	2. Confusion

_Ahem. So, yeah. Here's the next chapter to Gender Switch. Thanks a billion for ALL your reviews, they make me feel so happy. I hope all of you review once again, and who knows? Maybe I'm lucky enough to get some new reviewers? ;]_

_Thanks a billion (again) to my beta reader, Skye Maxwell. :D_

* * *

_CHAPTER TWO-CONFUSION_

The burn was traveling throughout my whole body as I lay on the ground. I wasn't unconscious, but I was wishing so hard I was. The pain was unimaginably strong; but I urged myself not to scream. Not to yell. I really, _really_ tried not to.

I heard various screams far away, but they were getting muffled. Was it the rain? Or was it me? I couldn't tell.

I suddenly started having trouble breathing. I could literally feel my pulse start to slow down. My eyes started to droop and my body started to weaken. I couldn't see anymore; had my eyes shut close? Was I so numb that I couldn't feel my eyes closed?

I tried to inhale a deep breath—_One last one_, I thought.

I couldn't deny it anymore. I was dying. I was _finally dying_. If I could've laughed right then, I would have. I always thought I would have died because of an expiration date, or maybe some crazy injecting whitecoats, or maybe some GoBots or weird, new experiments they came up with at the School. But because of some unknown pain—that was now starting to decrease—and because of my stupidity? Never really crossed my mind. Oh, God. Why did I have to save some freaking dog?!

"Max," I heard a tiny voice whisper. The voice was shaking. With all the strength I had left, I felt the person's breath next to my ear. That voice. I recognized it. But my brain wasn't working as it always did. I tried to concentrate hard on the voice.

_Speak…again_, I thought. It seemed even thinking pained me.

"Max?" I could clearly hear the voice now, and I was sure it was crying.

My slow beating heart suddenly sunk.

It was Angel.

Angel. Was she trying to wake me up? Was she afraid? Did she know—did anyone know—I was dying right in front of them? Did they know what I was going through?

I wasn't sure, but I swear I stopped feeling the rain. The decreasing pain was still there, but the rain had stopped. I felt nothing pressing softly against my body anymore.

Everything stopped once I thought about leaving Angel behind. Leaving the flock behind.

No! I couldn't leave them alone! I knew how much they needed me, yeah, but I knew even more how much I needed _them_. I couldn't leave them. My whole world revolved around them and now, my whole world was disappearing.

And what about Iggy? Was he okay? He was the only one outside with me at the time, so did he get injured as well?

I couldn't go. No, not yet.

I felt a pang strike my heart and suddenly, I couldn't breathe anymore.

I could see, though, and the pain was gone. I could feel my soul—my _soul_, damn it—being lifted out of my body. _No_! I begged, I pleaded, I couldn't go yet! What had Fang said before? With every effort I had left, I remembered; "You die when we die."

That wasn't happening. And didn't I promise him—all of the flock—that we would stick together, no matter what? And what was I doing _now_?!

I broke enough promises for one night. I couldn't break another one.

Everything was already getting blinding. All I could see was whit and I could feel my soul starting to rise even more out of my body.

And, to my surprise, I heard myself yell, _"NO!"_

* * *

I yawned and stretched as I awoke from my unconsciousness.

"Ow," I muttered. The stretching made my arms hurt even more than they already did.

Wincing slightly, I put my arms back to my sides and opened my eyes.

Nothing.

I frowned. Had I really opened my eyes? I blinked, or at least I thought I did.

Still nothing.

I opened my eyes as wide as I could, and my heart started racing. What was going on? Where was I? _Why couldn't I see?_

I froze suddenly as I remembered what was going on. Wasn't I dying before? How long before? After I yelled 'No'…I squinted so I could remember.

But I didn't. All I remember was a sting out and a sting in. If that makes any sense at all.

I felt the closest object around me. A bed? It was soft, yeah…pillows. Yes. Definitely a bed.

Okay, so I was on my bed. Well, I hoped this was my bed. I relaxed a bit. Hey, maybe because of the incident, I became blind. Okay, so it was no big. It was better than dying, wasn't it?

I scowled. I thought, _Blind_. I didn't like that word. Sure, Iggy was blind, but…

_Iggy_.

My pulse increased as I tried to get up. Iggy, Iggy. Was he okay? Was everything okay? Did anyone else get hurt?

Like I said, I tried to get up, but I failed.

I found the edge of the bed and swung my feet, trying to find the floor. Once my feet touched solid ground, I stood up.

Only to fall back down again.

My face hit the floor with a big _thump_!

"Ouch," I mumbled. Was he ground seriously this hard? I'd never felt it like this before. Maybe I should do something about it, I thought to myself. Get a carpet…

"Uh, Max?" Someone whispered my name, but the voice was unfamiliar to me. I stayed frozen on the floor.

Something clicked to the right of me. A door closing? "Uhm, Max," the unfamiliar voice said again. "If you're done making out with the floor now, please get up."

"Why should I listen to you?" I growled at the voice. Plus, I didn't really _know_ how to get up…

I heard an audible sigh. "Because," the voice said. "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

I laughed once without humor. "I don't trust horrible voices like yours."

There was a long pause.

Then the person started laughing.

I grunted. "What are you, bi polar?" I muttered, trying to figure out if I could stand up by myself. My hands found their way to each side next to my face and pushed myself up.

I felt a hand grab my arm and help me get up. I froze and yanked my arm away. "Bi polar," I muttered again.

"Max," the person said, still laughing. "This is _your_ voice."

I blinked, revealing nothing but darkness. "Huh?" I asked dumbfounded.

The person let out a deep breath. "Max," it said. "It's me, Iggy."

This time, _I_ laughed. "Uh huh." I said between breaths. "And I'm the Easter Bunny planning world domination."

"That wouldn't be too weird," 'Iggy' said. I stopped laughing abruptly.

"What?" I hissed. The person chuckled.

"You heard me," The person said. "I'm pretty sure you did. You're blind, because you're _me_."

I scowled. "Liar." I told the person, but my pulse quickened.

The person laughed. "Oh, I see," the person said. "You'd rather be making out with the floor?" I kept up the scowl. "I don't know what you see in her, floor," the person sighed dramatically. "She's not so sharp."

I glared at the direction the voice came from. "Okay, fine," I said. "_Now_ I believe you're Iggy. But I still don't think that's my voice."

Iggy chuckled. "Oh, don't worry," he told me. "It _is_ always this witty."

I tried to smack his—my?—head, but failed and ended up hitting the wall.

"Gah!" I breathed. Iggy laughed. "How close is that wall to me?" I growled. Iggy kept laughing.

I frowned. "So now, what?" I asked. He finally stopped laughing.

"I don't know," he admitted. I scoffed.

"We have to do something!" I hissed. "We can't stay like this forever! We have to go back into our bodies! We have to tell the flock—" A hand clamped over my mouth and Iggy shushed me.

"No," he growled. "We can't tell!"

I scowled, grabbed his hand and threw it off my mouth. "Why not?!" I asked him. He sighed.

"Don't you think it'll get them even more alarmed than they already are?" he reasoned. "You don't want to do that, do you?"

I grimaced. "No," I said slowly. I could practically feel Iggy's grin.

"There. So we'll keep it a secret until I find out a solution to this mess. Why and how."

I smiled slightly. "So, _Max_," I said. "How do you like seeing again?"

Iggy laughed. "Damn it, _Iggy_, I love it. So much." I grinned and hugged him tight.

"I'm glad you do." I told him. Iggy hugged me back just as tightly.

Then I heard a door open.

A long pause.

Iggy let go of me abruptly.

"What's going on?" I heard someone ask. Fang. Oh, God, Fang. I could feel heat rush up my face at the sound of his voice, and I looked down.

Iggy cleared his throat. "We were just…happy we were both okay," he explained. I gulped.

Another pause.

What was going on?

* * *

_Iggy's POV_

Fang looked at Max, as if he was about to kill her. But Max had her face glued to the floor and said nothing. I had to do something, quick.

"So, Fang, do you know about the game duck, duck, goose?"

Both Max's and Fang's faces snapped towards me.

Were you kidding me? I couldn't believe I just asked that. I raised my eyebrows. "Uh, yeah, well, uh, see, you, uh, then, erm, you run, and, if they, uh, catch you, you…so yeah." I stuttered.

I saw Max smirk. Is this how Max felt when she sent wasted glares at me? It didn't feel very nice.

Fang stared at me, then at Max—Iggy—me?—well, he stared at both of us.

He finally cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, Max, I've heard of that game before." He gave me a doubtful look. "Are you guys sure…"

"We've never been better," Max grinned at his direction and Fang raised an eyebrow. I mentally slapped Max. I never grinned at Fang. Ever.

We had a lot of work to do.

"Okay, well," he looked at me. "I'm glad you guys are okay now. You had me worried." He looked at me the whole time while saying this. He wasn't worried about me, was he?

"Yeah, sorry," Max said. Fang snapped his eyes away from mine to Max's. He nodded.

"Alright." Fang agreed, and looked back at me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked me quietly. I almost froze. What did he want to do?

His eyes were filled with concern, worry, and—seriously, was Max that oblivious?—love.

I almost gagged.

I was about to refuse, when Fang grabbed my hand and took me out of my room.

"But, M—Iggy needs help…" I started. Only Heaven knew what could happen to Max when she was blind. We had enough trouble from her when she could actually see…

"He's been handling himself since he was six," he practically spat. Wait…was I sensing some— "He can take care of himself now."

Okay, yuck. No. Wrong. He was jealous. It was so visible in his voice. He didn't even hide it. He didn't think Max _liked_ me?

This time, I did gag.

Fang froze and put his arm around me. "Max, are you okay?"

I was too busy gagging then to gag _again_ by his touch. "I'm fine," I said when I had enough breath. I noticed his arm still around my shoulder and I jumped—yes, jumped—out of his reach.

"What did you want, anyway?" I asked him.

Fang's expression stayed blank. "I just wanted to know how you felt." He said. I smirked.

"Uh huh," I said. "I'm fine. Happy? May I go now? I need to help Ma—_Iggy_," I corrected before I said anything I might regret. Fang narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you need to go help Iggy?" he asked me suspiciously. I tried to no gulp at his tone.  
"He needed me to help him…uh, you know…do things." I told him. Fang snorted.

"Really? _Things_?" he asked me. I nodded.

"So many. You know me! Savior of the blind, bla bla bla. So, yeah. I'm going now." I turned away and ran to the room I had left Max in, opening and closing the door as quickly as possible. I was actually panting.

Max was standing in the same place she was when I left, seeming strained.

I laughed. "Jeez, don't seem so calm, you'll die," I told her, walking towards her. Her face instantly cleared.

"Thank God," she breathed. "I thought you left me for good," she hissed. I laughed again.

"I've never seen you like this, Max, all helpless," I grinned, and she glared to her left. I couldn't control the laughter that hadn't stopped.

"Wrong way," I teased. She blushed and looked down.

"Would you leave me alone?" she said, exasperated. "I need your help. I don't know how to be blind!"

I chuckled at her choice of words. "You'd think you wouldn't," I agreed. I took a deep breath. "We can start here, in my—or, for now, _your_—room. Ready?"

Max shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay," I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door. "Here's the door. I usually take ten steps forward, three steps left to reach the bed," I explained. "Try it."

She took a deep breath. "Ten steps forward, three steps right." She started with the first step. "Two," she breathed, taking another step.

"Good," I told her, not holding her arm anymore. "You're going good."

She nodded, taking another step. Then another. Then another, until finally reaching the ten dreaded steps. She stopped.

"Hmm," I said. "Maybe…try taking another two. You didn't reach the length of the bed." Max nodded. She took one more step.

"Okay, no, stop there. No, Max, don't—!"

Before I had time to blink, Max was laying down with her back on the floor. I looked at her, trying to contain my laughter.

"I don't think I added the computer desk into the equation," I said, trying to sound casual.

Max narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. "No," she said through clenched teeth. "I don't think you did."

I couldn't contain my laugh anymore. Still laughing hysterically, I carefully helped Max up. She sent a glare at my direction.

"So, we should take ten steps forward, three steps left, and _then_ two more forward," I reasoned. Max hissed.

"Couldn't you think of that _before_ I lost brain cells?" she asked. I coughed.

"I'm not quick in this body," I grinned. Max huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I just want—"

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a small six year old, a grinning eight year old, and an equally happy eleven year old.

Oh, no.

"Who is it?" Max breathed to me. I cleared my throat.

"My flock!" I yelled, over enthusiastically. Maybe that answered her question.

It seemingly did, because her face arose with panic. "Crap," se whispered.

I blocked my mind instantly, thinking Max. All Max.

"Max!" Angel ran up to me and hugged me.

Right. I was Max.

I knelt down and patted her hair. "Erm, yeah, it's me. Max. Not anyone else. I mean, ha! Who else would I be, _Iggy_?" Okay, not smooth.

Max shook her head, seeming to mouth, 'idiot'. I grinned sheepishly.

Angel pulled away and stared at me, but then shrugged. "I'm glad you're awake!" she yelled, as the Gasman ran up to Max.

"Iggy, dude, I have to talk to you. Something went wrong…" I cleared my throat, and Gazzy looked at me confused.

Then I stopped. "Uh.." I nodded. "What are you guys talking about?" I asked, as Nudge came up to me and hugged me tight. My heart sped up just a bit.

Gazzy grinned. "Aw, come on, Max," he told me. "You know that Iggy misses explosions after all the time you guys have been unconscious."

Max gulped audibly, and everyone turned to her. Angel had a puzzled expression.

"Oh, yeah," Max said. "Bombs. Explosions. Inviting. Grr…"

Awkward silence.

I stifled laughter.

Gazzy and Nudge exchanged a glance.

Fang came in and looked at Max strangely.

"So, yeah, uh, okay, go ahead and do that," I said, grinning. "Do your 'grr' business."

Max glared at me again. I laughed once, but then tried to contain it.

"Not yet," Fang said slowly, looing at me like I'd come from an alternate universe. Maybe I did, right then, I had no idea. "Iggy, we need you to cook some breakfast, the kids are hungry."

"Sure," I answered, then Max and I froze. "Yeah, sure, Iggy, uh, go make us breakfast." I said, trying to make up an excuse as to why I said 'Sure'.

Max looked panicked.

Oh, great. I valued my life enough to not let Max cook, but wouldn't it kind of look weird if _I_—in Max's body—were cooking? And deliciously, may I add?

Angel shook her head. "You guys are thinking really weird today," she said innocently, as Max and I grinned.

Fang looked at Max with his eyes narrowed. "Acting weird, too," he muttered.

Long pause.

"So," I said. "Breakfast, anyone?" I asked all of the flock. They all agreed. I gulped.

Max needed help. Bad.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

_I would like...38 reviews for the next chapter. _

_Someone complained I always asked for so little reviews, so balme them. Haha. :D_

_But I hope you guys can make it, I really do. This is fun to write, and I do it for you guys._

_Thanks again!_


	3. He says, She says

_Ahem. I will gladly take any flying objects you throw at me and/or mini Fangs.  
First off, I want to say I am terribly sorry for not updating this story in, well, forever. I have had so many things to do. I've been in the process of moving, finding a part time job, then my laption and PC were both busted, so there was no way I could get on a computer or internet except by going to the public library, in which I cannot save anything. So, again, please forgive me. Curse me if you will how many times you would like, but pleace accept my apology.  
Second, for the fans of my other story, 'Wings and Immortals' (I've been out so long. That's the name, right?) Don't worry, I will continue it. Please be patient with me. This is my new Mac and I am barely getting the hang of things and believe it or not, I am still unpacking and I do still have that job I told you about. So bare with me.  
And third, I had lack of inspiration for this chapter. It really doesn't focus on much. So just, wait for the next chapter and you'll see more things will happen. I know, I make you wait so long jus to give you a crappy chapter, I fail myself more than I fail you.  
I love you all, and I hope that all my reviewers are still here. (:  
Enjoy._

* * *

_CHAPTER THREE- HE SAYS, SHE SAYS._

_Max's POV_

A smile has usually gotten me out of many, many situations before. Angel asking where babies came from? A smile. Jumbled thoughts. And just like that, Angel forgot about the situation. Fang, asking me about us. A smile. A shrug. A change of subject. He got the message. With Nudge, asking about her real parents. A smile. A stroke of the hair. And with that, she fell asleep in my lap.

But this time, I had a feeling that I wouldn't get out of this one that easily. I could smile, but it was Iggy's smile—which usually got him out of, well, nothing.

I tried not to look like I was panicking, not to look like I was about to kill my entire flock with my cooking, when I felt a strong hand grab my arm and pull me somewhere, until the voices of the flock were distant.

"Alright, this is bad," I recognized my own voice—well, what was supposed to be my voice—and let out a sigh of relief. It was Iggy.

"You think?" I hissed at him. "Iggy, I can barely cook when I could see. You want me to cook when I'm _blind_?! I won't only poison the flock, I'll kill them! They'll die a slow, overly greasy, painful death!" My heart was racing wildly. I was definitely, and Iggy knew this, not exaggerating.

"Max, calm your a down, okay? Breathe, Max, breathe…like that…alright…that's good…" Iggy told me.

I frowned. "Iggy, I haven't started breathing yet," I pointed out, and I heard him chuckle.

"Okay, well, maybe I was the one breathing to calm myself down," he told me, and I snorted but giggled a bit. Then I grinded my teeth and waited for him to come up with something. And quick.

"Well…" There was a short pause, then Iggy continued. "We can't order take out. Apart from the fact that you never let us, we're about two towns away from the nearest restaurant," he said. I smiled, proud that I had taken the time to calculate how far away from what we were.

Not to mention I always reminded the flock.

"So, all we can do is…cook. Together." He offered. I stayed quiet for a moment, then snorted.

"Iggy, I don't think that will work. Okay the fact that I'm even in the kitchen will tick off the rest of the flock. Got any other brilliant ideas?" I asked him, pointing out the flaws in his plan.

I could practically see Iggy scowling. "You could say you're going to teach me how to cook or something," Iggy suggested, irritated. "Just because of what happened before, with the storm? I don't know, use your mind! You're the leader." He hissed.

I clenched my jaw and sighed in defeat. "Whatever," I told him, and asked him to lead the way back to the flock.

* * *

_Iggy's POV._

Finally, Max had agreed to go along with my plan, and had asked me to take her back to the flock. I just hoped to the heavens above to give her some reason and for her to speak, oh, I don't know, like a guy?

I'd never noticed before that she was literally such a girl.

I walked her over to the living room, where the flock didn't seem to notice we had gone out for a few minutes. Angel, Nudge and Gazzy were murmuring to each other, while Fang, at hearing our footsteps, turned and glared at Max's direction.

Alright, we were going to have a talk, Max and I. This whole glaring at my body and blaming me for something that was completely untrue had to stop. It scared me, to say the least.

"We're here," I whispered to Max, and Max took a deep breath.

"Uh, guys?" she cleared her throat and said, and the whole flock turned to look at her. I guess she was trying to sound informal, like she wasn't the leader for now. "I don't want you to panic about this or anything," she told them, and Fang raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored him and looked at Max. "But Iggy," she stopped abruptly and my breath hitched. The flock looked puzzled. "Iggy, which is me, Iggy, me. Who else, right I'm just trying to emphasize that, hello! I'm the only Iggy here! Remember that, folks!" Max laughed nervously, listening desperately for a response.

I blinked, then laughed along with her. "Ha, Iggy! Act serious! Ha ha, you're funny! Phew," I wiped my hand on my forehead, hoping no one had noticed the awkwardness.

Which was as possible as Fang finally stopping the glaring my way.

Angel raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head. "Are you guys still tired from the whole lightning thing? Maybe you should rest…" Angel offered, and both Max and I yelled no at once.

"We're fine," Max assured, and continued with her rant. "As I was saying, I'm going to teach Max over here," she pointed to her left, and I cleared my throat. Quickly, she pointed to her right. "Over here, I mean," she corrected. "To cook. So, don't worry. You won't die."

The whole flock sat there in shock, looking back and forth from Max and me. Wow, is this how annoyed Max felt when they stared at her like she was crazy for even mentioning cooking?

I needed to work on my people skills.

"Alright, whatever, so you go ahead and do what you normally do, and we will be in the kitchen," I told them, pushing Max farther into the kitchen.

Max looked strangled. "Now what?" she asked me in a whisper.

"Now we keep them away from the kitchen so they don't know I'm the one cooking," I told her, gathering eggs from the refrigerator and vegetable oil from the seasoning cabinet.

"I can't be on the lookout!" Max told me. "I can't see," she said.

I rolled my eyes, still gathering the things I needed to make the omelets. "You have an amazing hearing sense now, Max," I reminded her. "You'll know when someone's coming. And plus, you're not going to be on the lookout, you're going to be right here next to me, and when someone comes, take over. Pretend you know what you're doing. I don't know, talk about Julia Child or something," I told her, grabbing the utensils now.

Max gaped. "Who the hell is that?" she hissed, and I chuckled quietly.

"Someone who definitely will never catch your attention," I told her, and I was about to turn on the oven, when I heard Max hiss.

I jumped and turned to my left, to see Fang standing at the entrance of the kitchen, staring at me.

I blinked. I was Max. I just couldn't get used to the idea. Plus, we had to figure out a way out of these bodies before I went nuts.

"Fang?" I finally asked him and he blinked, seeming to come out of a trance. He suddenly frowned and grabbed my arm.

"We'll be right back, Iggy," he told Max, and I turned to see Max's panicked face.

"No!" I said, trying to make him let me go. "I have to listen to Iggy. Can't we leave this conversation until after breakfast?" I asked him, and he hissed.

"I think Iggy can handle the cooking himself," he practically growled at me, and I just couldn't believe what a wreck this guy was. He needed therapy. Like, 'How to trust the one you love' or something.

He dragged me to his room, closed and locked the door.

Oh, dear God, please don't let him try anything, I silently begged.

He looked at me. "What the hell is all that about?" he asked me, seeming exasperated.

I looked at him for a moment. "All what about?" I rebounded. He seemed furious.

"Since when are you interested in learning how to cook?" he asked me, and I shrugged.

"Since the thunderstorm. I figured, if something ever happened to one of us, we still need food to survive, am I right?" I raised an eyebrow at Fang, waiting for a comeback.

He looked at his shoes and then back at me, eyes flaming. "You expect me to believe that crap?" he asked me.

Since when did Fang show this much emotion? I asked myself. He never showed any kind of emotion in front of the rest of the flock, so why only with me? Or, actually, Max?

I blinked. Ohhhh. Now I got it.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, God, Fang, get a grip, would you? There's nothing to worry about, I won't kill you guys, I promise." I stood up from his bed and was about to unlock the door, when Fang put both arms around my waist, turned me around, leaving myback resting on the door and his hands still trapped around my waist.

Whoa, now wait, way too close, man, way too close.

I could feel his breath over my face. Now here, Max would probably get very flirty (ha! Max, flirty?) or something, but here, all I could think of, apart from how disgusted I was, was 'Damn. This guy needs a Tic-Tac.'

I turned my face sideways to prevent him from looking into my eyes. It just freaked me out. "Uh, Fang, I want to go back to Iggy now," I told him. Hell knows what Max was doing by herself, _blind_, in a kitchen.

"Is there something going on between you and Iggy?" he asked, getting closer to me, his lips brushing my cheeks.

I was about to hurl. Someone, please help me. I tried my best not to choke on my disgust. Trying to push him away wouldn't help either, because he had now gabbed my wrists and didn't let them go.

Was this supposed to be a turn on?

God, this was so…_gay_.

"No, Fang, nothing, now please, please let me go," I begged him, but Fang didn't oblige. Instead, somehow, he turned my face to look at him again and stared at my lips.

Crap. This wasn't looking good. Nothing ever looked good when I was me, and now when I'm Max, it was worse. So, I was definitely hating this day.

Do not try anything, I mentally told him, hopefully it was reaching his damn, teenage boy mind.

"Come on," Fang breathed. "If there isn't anything going on, you wouldn't mind me…" he leaned closer to me, and when his lips touched mine, I jumped and managed to push him away.

"Ill!" I yelled, not thinking. Fang blinked and stared at me. "Don't you ever, and I swear this, ever, try to kiss me again, Fang! I swear, if you ever do, I will punch you so hard in the guts that it will travel down to where you don't want it to travel and you won't be able to have children!"

Before he could answer me, I unlocked his door and got out of his room. Dear God, I was to be scarred for life.

Now when they asked me, 'Have you ever kissed a guy?' I would have to answer, yes. Yes, I have. And I probably ruined a relationship by doing so, too.

But now I knew I wasn't gay.

I ran back to the kitchen, and, not surprisingly, Max was still standing dumbfounded, in the same place we had left her.

I glared at her, knowing it would be wasted. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed at her, and she jumped.

"Huh?" she asked, after making sure it was me.

"You disgust me," I told her, turning on the oven. "You dare call yourself a fearless leader? But when it comes to Mr. Fang, oh no, you get knee weak. At least, he sure as hell expects you too! And who's to pay the price? Me! Who's the one that gets scarred? Well, by Pete, it's got to be Iggy!" Max scowled.

"It would be so much easier to prove you wrong if I knew what you were talking about," Max told me, her face angry, yet still puzzled.

"Your dear little boyfriend kissed me right now," I spat, grabbed the vegetable oil and poured it on the pan. "And the guy seemed very turned on if you ask me. Which you should. 'Cause, you know, he kissed _me_!" I growled.

Max's face turned tomato red at hearing those words and her mouth stayed open in shock. I could tell she was trying to find the right words to say.

Suddenly, she laughed.

I stared at her. "What the frick?" I frowned. "Have you gone nuts?" I asked her.

Max kept laughing hysterically, now on the floor, holding her stomach. "Oh, God," she managed to get out, out of breath.

I stared at her. She had definitely gone mad.

It was only a matter of time, of course, but still.

"What is your problem?" I hissed at her. "You're going to draw attention." I warned her, and she took a while to stop.

"Oh, my God," she said, her breath coming short as she stood up. "I'm so sorry about that, Iggy. Oh, my God, I would pay to see your face right now." She snorted.

"It's like yours, when you find out the Gasman and I exploded your pants," I told her, and she laughed a bit more. I rolled my eyes and cracked an egg, letting it hit the pan.

"You must be so scarred," she told me, and I gritted my teeth, trying to concentrate on my cooking. "I mean, wow," she laughed again. "If Fang knew about the whole, you and me switching bodies thing, he would be too, trust me," she laughed again. She was laughing too much for her sake. Or mine.

Or anyone else's, for that matter.

"It's a good thing you just let him, because, I would have some explaining to do if you hadn't," Max said, still grinning.

I stopped abruptly and smiled sheepishly, continuing on the omelet and ignoring Max's 'stares'.

"You did let him, right?" she asked me, her voice tensing. I kept cooking and tried to tune Max out.

"Oh, my God, what did you do?" the grin in her face was gone and it was back to the one of panic from before. Oh, hola Max! Welcome back.

"Did you expect me to make out with him or something?" I asked her, and she grunted.

"Iggy! You're supposed to let him kiss you then run away! Don't you know that?!" She told me, and I stopped.

"Do you guys do role playing or something? What, is he the Joker and you're Batman?" I asked her, confused.

She looked sheepish. "Okay, no you don't know that," she said. "And we don't do role playing," she added. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

I put my hands up in surrender. "It's the only thing that comes to mind," I said. "You say the whole running away thing like you do it often. How many times has the guy kissed you, anyway? I mean, it was a matter of time," I said. Suddenly, I had a pain to my stomach, but I let it go.

"You don't need to know," Max hissed, then she paused. "What do you mean, 'It was a matter of time'?" she asked me, and I smirked, working on my second omelet.

"You mean you don't notice how Fang looks at you? Man, are you sure you weren't blind before, as well?" I asked her, letting her curiosity roam.

Max scowled. "He looks at me in no way in particular," she told me matter-of-factly. I chuckled.

"Oh yeah, of course not," I played along, and Max's face seemed to be very confused.

Score one for Iggy.

* * *

"Okay, dig in," Max said, as we were all seated in the table with a great amount of omelets.

Everyone started filling up there plates, as I filled up Max's, knowing she probably didn't know where the omelets were.

"Thanks," she whispered at me, smiling. I didn't need to answer her.

I noticed that Fang was the only one not grabbing omelets, and I almost groaned out loud. Couldn't the guy get over it? I mean, sure, I rejected him, (Max rejected him, kind of, sort of.) but it was only once. I messed with his ego, big whoop. Maybe he'll take that as a sign that he needs to persist.

I told Max what I noticed, and she seemed guilty. She looked at me with a pleading face.

"There is no way in hell," I told her, taking a bite out of my omelet. Max asked me again.

"He'll get over it by himself, he's a big boy!" I hissed, trying to tune her out again.

"Iggy, this is your fault, please," Max told me. "I don't want him to starve to death just because of a kiss, or lack thereof," she blamed me, and I shook my head.

"He'll get hungry sooner or later, and he'll eat." I told her, taking another bite out of my omelet. "Now just get over it."

"He'll avoid both of us for a while if you don't fix it," she hissed at me, and I gaped.

"Why would he avoid you? Or me? Iggy, in that sense." I asked. She smirked.

"Because he obviously thinks that the reason you didn't kiss him is because there's something going on between us," she whispered, and I laughed.

"Well, then there's something wrong with his head, because—" I was interrupted by Nudge.

"What are you guys being so secretive about?" she asked me, her brown eyes boring into mine. I blinked and looked away, only to catch Fang's impassive eyes.

"Uhm," Max cleared her throat. "We were wondering…" she hesitated. "If the omelets were any good. I mean, hello, Max helped, right?" the whole flock, except for Fang, laughed.

"Actually, they're pretty good," the Gasman chirped in. "I'm impressed, Max, you can cook pretty well." He said, looking at me.

Right, me Max. Max no cook.

I smiled. "Thanks, Gazzy," I said, trying to sound grateful and proud.

Gazzy smiled back and kept eating his omelet. I gulped and looked at Fang. Great. Max knew how to guilt trip you into so many things.

"Aren't you going to eat, Fang?" I finally asked him, and everyone stopped and stared at him. Fang looked at me, no emotion in his face. "You know, you might want to judge me or something," I tried, hoping to crack a smile.

Instead, he stood from the table. "I'm not hungry," he stated, and walked away and into his room.

Everyone seemed surprised at this, and Max groaned and cradled her head in her hands. I grimaced and sunk into my chair.

So now, we had two problems. The whole, how will we change back into our bodies thing, and how will we make things better with Fang without kissing him thing.

Something told me those weren't the only problems we were going to have.

* * *

_Remember, reviews are still very much appreciated. And I love you all for giving me 82 REVIEWS IN THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS. That's...whoa. That's actually what made me write this chapter, out of all my stories, first. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. (:_


	4. Restrooms

_

* * *

_

Hello again, faithful readers. May I recommend you READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE?  
Yes, I have finally updated, and this is more af a humor chapter. Next will be filled with FAX, then the next they will finally start to realize how to get out of this situation.  
GUESS WHAT?!  
THIS STORY HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE MAXIMUM RIDE AWARDS!  
Two awards. :D I'm happy.  
So this is my present to you all. Who nominated this story, by the way? IF YOU NOMINATED THE STORY, PM ME. :D I will give you a shout out and dedicate you a oneshort. :) (PLEASE BE HONEST ABOUT IT)  
Why caps? It catches you ATTENTION, RIGHT? :P  
The link to vote is in my profile, so go click on it and PLEASE VOTE FOR ME AND I WILL UPDATE SOONER.  
I promise. Tell me through a review you voted for me and I will gladly update much, much sooner. :) (finished half of chapter five)  
It's nominated for a FANG AWARD and THE GASMAN AWARD.  
Also, my other story, PICTURE PERFECT has been nominated for the FANG AWARD and the ELLA AWARD. :)  
Please, if you love me, vote for me?  
Anyway, I found this so much fun to write. It must be awkward for Max&Iggy...  
anyway, this might get longer than the actual chapter, so, enjoy! :D

_Iggy's POV_

Okay, so that wasn't working out too well. Was it supposed to, actually? No. Nothing was right. I mean, hello, we were in different bodies, for crying out loud. And the fact that I had to 'comfort Fang' was definitely not in my top ten list right then.

But Max pulled the whole 'it will ruin both our lives' card again, so I had no choice.

After breakfast, I told the kids to clean the kitchen up (Muahaha! Power!) and asked Max to stay put in the living room (which got me so many complaints).

Afterwards, I knocked on Fang's door.

"What?" an almost quiet voice came from the other side of the room. Dear Lord, please help me, I begged silently.

"Fang? Open the door," I said, trying to sound like I had authority (which in Max's body, I did. In mine? Not so much.) There was a pause, then the door opened slowly. Jeez, Max had this guy's balls in her purse, didn't she? Did he always give in that easily to her?

I shifted my weight to the other leg as he stared at me. His stare made me absolutely uncomfortable, and I tried not to punch him in the nose and make a run for it.

Would Max do that?

I was starting to really consider it until he finally sighed, and asked me what I wanted.

I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt dry. "I wanted to apologize for earlier," I said. "For the way I…reacted about the…" Cue gag. Un-cue gag, because Fang was staring at me (Max.) "Kiss." I finished, trying not to grimace at the thought. I tried to block out the image. It wasn't working to well, but nevertheless…

Fang scoffed. "It's not like you've never done it before," he said, venom dripping from his voice. "It didn't affect me, don't worry."

I sighed. Well, I wasn't about to push it. "Okay," I said cheerfully, but a hiss from the hallway made me stop. Great. Now that Max had my hearing abilities, she knew what was going on. And she wanted me to keep talking to Fang.

I gritted my teeth and turned to face Fang again. "No, it's not fine," I said lamely, not putting any emotion into my words. "Fang, you've got to understand that Ma—I mean, I need time to figure this shit out, alright? So just give Ma—me space, man. Don't push me, alright? It's crappy of a guy to do that to a girl," I said, and with that turned away.

Oh, what I would have given to see Fang's astonished face. I smirked. I made a pretty good Max.

_Max's POV_

I felt myself blush at Iggy's words. He was the only one who could actually stand up to Fang and tell him exactly what I've been wanting to tell him for so long. What would Fang think now? Did that mean he would stay away from me until I came looking for him?

My stomach sunk. I didn't want that. I just wanted him to understand that I did love him, but I didn't know what to do about it yet. He didn't get it, did he? He didn't get that everything he felt, I felt. That ever fiber in my being was telling me to go after him, damn it, and kiss him with everything in me and never let him go for the rest of my life, however much longer that might be.

I shook my head and tried to push the thought aside. That was definitely not my biggest problem at the moment. Hopefully, Iggy was coming back already and with a plan in mind. I needed to know how we were going to get out of this mess, soon.

"Okay," Iggy said, and I felt him sit next to the me on the couch. I sighed in relief. "I did it. Happy now? God, that guy's a bigger idiot than expected."

I giggled and for once, accurately slapped him across his arm. "Shut up," I muttered. "We both are." I said, then blushed all over again and looked down.

"I cannot believe how long it took me to figure out something was happening between you two!" he said in an amused tone. "To think that was all I needed to be able to tease Fang a little more than usual," he laughed and I growled.

"I said, be quiet," I hissed. "Do you want them to hear this conversation?" Iggy stopped laughing and sighed.

"Okay, so, what now?" Iggy asked, and I froze.

There was a sensation in me that I couldn't get out of the way, and if I did, it would pretty much be unhealthy, or so I've learned by watching the stupid Health channel that Nudge loves to watch.

I bit my lip and looked down. Damn. What was I supposed to do? Tell Iggy? And how would that help? Worse, the stupid blindness problem made it harder to do anything about it. Why hadn't it ever occurred to me how hard this was for Iggy?

Well, I couldn't stay quiet for much longer. He was the only one, in fact, who could help me. So I drew in a breath and spoke. "Hey, Igs?" I said.

He seemed to be thinking about something else as he answered. "Hmm?" he said, and I could hear that his head wasn't turned to look at me, which made it easier for me to blush.

"Uh, I have to _go_," I said, and I could hear Iggy's breath hitch. I waited in silence for him to say something, my heart beating wildly.

"Like, _go_ go?" he asked me, and I could hear an edge to his voice. Was he holding back laughter?

He'd better not be, or I would give him crap about it later.

"Yeah, like that kind of go," I muttered, my face still on the floor. Not that it mattered, for I couldn't see Iggy's expression anyway, but he could see mine, and even in his body I was sure it wasn't pretty.

"Oh," he said. He snorted once, then twice, then he started shaking with laughter, the vibration hitting me through the couch. I scowled and told him to shut the hell up and tell me what to do.

"Go to the restroom?" he offered and I think I rolled my eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock, I meant, how do I…" I paused. "How do you go? Like, _you_?"

His chuckling stopped abruptly and he groaned. "Right," he mumbled. "I didn't take that into account," he admitted. There was a small silence, until he finally said, "I guess I'll have to go with you."

I gaped. "You will certainly not!" I shrieked, standing and being grateful I didn't fall over to ruin my dramatic moment. "That's absolutely out of the freaking, abnormal question!"

He snorted. "It's nothing I've never seen before, Max." he paused. "Huh. Actually, it is something I've never seen before. Sort of ironic. But anyway, they're my body parts and I wouldn't really be looking at yours," he pointed out.

"Still," I argued. "It would make me much more comfortable if you just explained to me, rather than stood next to me and 'show' me, whatever mean of definition it is in your book." I raised an eyebrow, not sure if he was sitting (or standing) at an angle to see my expression.

"Fine, fine," he said. I felt him turn me around, to face him I imagined. "Due to the, uh, differentia of male and female, you will have to do this standing up." I could do that. I mean, in all the years of running from something or the other, I had gotten used to peeing on trees. Don't go all sissy on me, it's not like we had a port-a-potty every single location we went to.

"Okay," I said. "So, how do I know where the bowl is?" I tried not to sound utterly ridiculous as I asked this.

Iggy seemed to still be amused by the whole situation. "Feel for it? And aim," he said. He grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom (which was my guess, and of course, I guessed correctly) and pushed me in.

"Aim?" I only said this word when he slammed the door shut and I stayed standing in the restroom, unable to see anything, hesitating for a very long time.

The good thing about not being able to see then was that I didn't feel like I was intruding in Iggy's privacy. I could only hope we would figure out a way for him not to intrude in mine.

I turned around and started waving my hands aimlessly, until finally, they reached something cold made of marble. To make sure this was the toilet, though, I let my hands roam it some more.

Finally, my hands felt nothing under them and fell into a hole. I felt water all over both my hands, and my body was now kneeling, the pain in my knees undeniable. I groaned. Yes, this was definitely the toilet bowl. Happy Max? You found it and managed to fill your damn hands with toilet water.

I grimaced. With any luck, the previous flock member who had used it had remembered to flush.

I took my hands out of the water and tried not to pout like a five year old. This was grossing me out, believe it or not. The thought of touching someone else's fluids didn't warm me up to having to stand up and pee right in the middle of the bowl.

Which then gave me an idea.

After a while of looking for the towel and drying my hands, and managed to zip down my pants and sit on the bowl. I found my way to the toilet paper and took some, rolling it up on one of my hands. I took a deep breath.

It was this or nothing. I didn't want the flock to be tipped off if they found pee squirted all around the bathroom, so I had to take a chance.

With an 'eww' face, I took the hand that was wrapped in the toilet paper and felt for the bottom area. Finally, I felt I had found the right spot. I tried not to gag as I pushed it down gently and closed my eyes (though it made no difference, of course) as the fluids made their way out.

I needed to get out of that body, and by damn Fang I needed to get out of it soon.

**Iggy's POV**

I tried to contain my laughter as all the rustling was going on inside the restroom.

I knew it wasn't nice of me to leave Max all alone, but frankly, being in there with Max and having her naked (even though it would be _my_ body exposed) crept me out. I loved Max, she was my sister, and I couldn't just stand there and (in a way) violate her privacy.

Which was why I had to figure out how I was supposed to go to the restroom now.

See, I didn't have to go before, but the mentioning of it in Max's part made me have to go now.

I sighed. I didn't need to be so hesitant. I knew girls peed sitting down, so all I had to do is pull down the pants, sit on the toilet bowl, and avert my eyes from looking downward.

I listened once more to what was going inside of the restroom and heard Max groan. I chuckled quietly. It would certainly go much better than in her case.

I walked to the next bathroom and closed the door behind me. I hummed a tune aimlessly while pulling down my pants, trying to distract myself from not looking down, don't look down, don't look down…

I noticed how the pee was coming out a bit harder than usual. That was odd. Did girls' pee come out like this? (The word 'pee' is making me uncomfortable now) I bit my lip. No, I wouldn't look down. It was alright. It was all in my head, I tried to convince myself.

Finally, the pee (Ugh. There it is again) stopped and I stood up, grabbing toilet paper and cleaning myself.

I was about to throw away the first piece of toilet paper when I noticed something that made my heart race.

The toilet paper didn't show the clear fluid (or the yellow one, for all I cared. How am I supposed to know? I can't see) it usually showed.

It was filled with blood.

Everything else seemed to disappear. What did this mean? Max was bleeding? And it was certainly Max bleeding, considering it was her body and not mine that had let out the liquid.

I looked down, ignoring what I had told myself before, and saw that I had in fact peed blood. I couldn't believe it. This wasn't possible. Max was peeing blood.

In my mind, I went through several diseases that showed 'peeing blood' as one of the symptom. All of them had one thing in common; death.

Quickly, I finished cleaning myself, pulled my pants up, flushed the toilet and ran outside. I pounded on the bathroom door and yelled my own name. "Iggy!"

"I'm right here," I turned around as I heard my own voice. Max was looking puzzled. "What's wrong?" she asked me, her voice barely above a whisper.

I gritted my teeth. "I have something to tell you," I said.

She blinked, not looking straight at me, but she finally got my general direction correct. "Uh huh," she said. "Continue."

I took a deep breath and held back the tears. Could this be an effect of the body switching? Had I been bleeding too and because of the fact Max was temporarily blind I couldn't find out?

I grabbed her hand and dragged her to my (her) room, and locked the door behind us.

"Iggy," she finally said after a moment of silence. "You can tell me anything."

My lower stomach was hurting, it was very painful, and I immediately thought it was because of the bleeding. Would everything else be hurting soon, too? "Max," I said. "You're bleeding."

She looked at my direction and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she said, looking confused. "Okay, we have some band aids in the medicine drawer, Iggy. You could get some."

I rolled my eyes. "No, Max, a band aid can't cure this bleeding," I tried to give subtle hints as to where I was heading. Max still looked confused. "Max," I touched her shoulder, my heart tugging. "You're bleeding down _there_," I said.

Her face finally showed realization. Instead of being devastated, though, she smiled. "Oh!" she laughed in relief, and I was dumbfounded. What the hell? "Okay, well, all you had to do was say so. I forgot that it was time,"

Time? "What?" I asked, my voice choked. "You—you knew? Why didn't you tell us?" I couldn't believe this had been happening for some time, and she didn't tell us? Any of us? Didn't Angel know? Wouldn't Angel know? Shouldn't she?

Max shrugged. "I didn't really think you would care," Max said, still smiling. "It's not something girls like to share."

I gaped at her, fury tears blinding my vision. "How long?" I hissed, and Max seemed confused by my tone of voice.

"It started about a year ago," she admitted. I growled.

"You've been dying for a year and you hadn't told any of us?!" I yelled at her, and Max's eyes widened.

"Huh?" she looked even more puzzled than before. I was breathing unevenly, getting angrier by the second. I couldn't believe Max. All this time, a freaking _year_ for crying out loud, and she didn't bother to even comment on it, just a small, 'Oh, by the way, I'm dying.' Kind of thing?!

Finally, Max's eyes showed realization for the second time.

Then she threw me off guard.

She started laughing.

She started cracking up, to be exact.

She doubled over and tears came to her unseeing eyes, her face bright red and you could tell she was out of breath.

This was funny to her?

I didn't understand what was going on. I just stood, motionless, not saying anything.

"You—you thought," Max laughed all over again. "You thought I was…" long laugh. "_Dying_?" she asked breathlessly.

Wait, thought?

I blinked. "What are you talking about? You said—"

Max cut me off, her face finally seemed to calm down, but she was still laughing some. "You idiot," she said, her grin wide. "I'm not dying. I'm on my period."

Okay. I was lost.

"Huh?" I asked. What the hell was a 'period'? Was that normal?

She sighed. "It happens to every single female on this planet," she said, answering my unspoken question. "It's a menstrual cycle, happens every month, Iggy. It's completely normal…it's when we _bleed_," she emphasized the word adding a chuckle. "It's a series of cyclical changes that occur in the female genital system each month." She said matter of factly, seeming to know everything about this.

"I have no clue what you mean," I muttered, and Max gave another annoying chuckle.

"It just means I'm not pregnant," she joked. I looked up at her and gagged.

"That's good," I said, imagining why Max would be pregnant at all. I bit my lip, feeling utterly stupid and ridiculous. "So…you're not dying," I concluded, and once again, she chuckled.

"No, I'm not dying," she assured me.

I sighed in relief. "Okay, so how do I stop this period thingy magig?" I asked her, and she smiled.

"You can't _stop_ it, Iggy," Max rolled her eyes. Well, did she expect a mutant freak like me to know that? "But you can help yourself…are you feeling cramps?"

"What cramps?" I checked myself all over.

"Like, does your stomach hurt?" she said, seeming to search for the right words.

Ah, so the stomach pain was being caused by the bleeding. Only, it wasn't for the same reason I thought of before. "Yeah, it hurts," I paused. "A freaking lot."

Max laughed. "It's normal. We have some Advil in the medicine cabinet, you can take some. It usually does it for me," she said. "And as to not staining my underwear…" she trailed off.

I bit my lip. "I didn't really check," I admitted, and she seemed relieved.

"Okay, that's fine," she said. "I'll just have to wash it out…you know, when I can _see_ again. But I suggest you change it, 'cause it smells horrifying," she made a disgusted face. "And get a pad to prevent more blood to stain _all_ my underwear."

A pad? "A pad?" I said, voicing my thoughts.

Max sighed. "It's kind of like—diapers, except not so uncomfortable and you cannot pee or poop on them, got it?" Max said. "It has to be changed every time you go to the restroom, or it starts to smell."

I looked at her. "Okay," I said slowly. "You know something?"

Max looked at me expectantly.

"After you help me with all that crap, I'm going to figure out how to get out of this bloody, stupid, female-filled body."

* * *

_Ha ha ha, so, did you like that? :D Poor Iggy.  
Uhm, so yeah. I hope you can vote for me. :)  
Keep your eyes open for the next chapter. I love you all. :D_

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR-RESTROOMS


End file.
